Netflix’s The Babysitter Trailer Brings on the R-Rated Horror/Comedy

Netflix released a trailer for upcoming horror/comedy The Babysitter. The streaming service first made its push into original content with television series, beginning with House of Cards in 2013, but has since expanded into all kinds of TV content – including choose your own adventure style programming – as well as movies. Netflix has made some particularly big gets in recent years, including the upcoming Martin Scorsese project, The Irishman, and Damien Chazelle’s musical TV series.

However, there are a great deal of projects on Netflix’s upcoming slate that may not have quite as much buzz but will undoubtedly entertain many of the streaming service’s users. One such project – premiering just in time for Halloween – is The Babysitter, a horror comedy about a 12-year-old boy who loves his babysitter but discovers she’s planning on using him as a sacrifice. Now, Netflix has released the trailer for the upcoming film.

Netflix unveiled The Babysitter trailer [above], along with the film’s funny tagline: “human sacrifice with hot people.” The official logline for the movie reads: “The Babysitter follows a lonely, 12-year-old boy who falls in love with his hot babysitter only to discover that she’s part of a satanic cult that wants to kill him.” Directed by McG from a screenplay by Brian Duffield (Insurgent), The Babysitter stars Samara Weaving (Monster Trucks), Bella Thorne (The DUFF), Robbie Amell (The Flash), Andrew Bachelor (We Are Your Friends), Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect), and Judah Lewis (Demolition).

Based on the above trailer for The Babysitter, the movie will draw on classic horror and slasher movie tropes to infuse a classic setup with comedic elements. From the hot babysitter and Thorne’s cheerleader, to Amell’s stereotypical hot guy – who goes shirtless without explanation – The Babysitter seems to be reaping each of the characters for plenty of comedy. But, the horror looks entertaining as well, with plenty of blood in the trailer for The Babysitter alone.

The horror genre has become more self-referential over the years, with Wes Craven’s Scream being the first major example of a slasher film drawing on classic tropes of the sub-genre in order to add some levity to the movie. But Scream is by no means the last instance of self-reference and meta humor in horror, with Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods being another major example – and even MTV’s Scream TV series included a fan of horror who often pointed out how the show’s storyline mimicked famous slasher movies.

While it’s unclear whether The Babysitter will actually include moments of self reference, or if it simply utilizes classic horror tropes for comedic beats, the trailer will likely entice fans of horror/comedy films. How Netflix’s upcoming film is received by viewers remains to be seen, but with a mid-October release date, it won’t be long before fans can watch The Babysitter for themselves.